Saturday, May 30, 2009

As I reported a few months ago, Monk Parakeets have officially been added to the NJ state checklist of birds. The "lister" in me finally had a chance to see them and count them for my state list. There are two populations I know of. There's a fairly large population in Edgewater, about an hour and 15 minutes from me. There's a much smaller population in Carteret - about 20 minutes from me and within my county. My friend's grandson has been monitoring two nests in Carteret and I went to see one today. As is typical of this species in urban habitats, the nest is on a telephone pole. I saw one adult perched with nesting material next to the nest, but he quickly entered the nest. I waited about 10 minutes and two adults emerged and took off to points unknown. I waited a bit, but did not see any more activity. I had to get home, so that was that! Here's a look at the massive nest.

4 comments:

Years ago, I went out with a gal from Jersey City, and was astounded to come across a Monk Parakeet nest in the dicey part of town in which she lived. The confluence of gritty urban streets and abandoned factories with the jungle screech of these birds was decidedly surreal.